


I would walk through fire

by Shoulder_Devil



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Archaeology, Extra Treat, Fire, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-01 01:46:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18326195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoulder_Devil/pseuds/Shoulder_Devil
Summary: Before he lost himself in his work, Tjelvar had looked at him with pride, and maybe a bit more. Edward adjusted the armor on his shoulders and stood a little taller. For Tjelvar, he could stand guard all night if he had to.





	I would walk through fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arazsya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arazsya/gifts).



> oops I tripped and fell into a pile of Ed/Tjelvar
> 
> Hope you don't mind that I skipped ahead a the point where the initial annoyance has shifted into affection.

 

Ed ignored the twinges in his back. If Tjelvar could keep working late into the night then the least he could do was keep watch. Standing guard against evil, carrying things, shifting rock-- that was easy, anyone could do that. Tjelvar was the one doing all the valuable work translating and cataloging. Ed didn't think he had done anything of value since he’d helped clear away some fallen stonework to find the entrance to this series of rooms.

The way Tjelvar’s face lit up when he saw inside warmed Ed's chest despite the cold. Tjelvar being happy made him happy, even more if it was because of something Ed did. Before he lost himself in his work, Tjelvar had looked at him with pride, and maybe a bit more. Edward adjusted the armor on his shoulders and stood a little taller. For Tjelvar, he could stand guard all night if he had to.

Tjelvar set his pen down and rubbed a stiff muscle in his neck. He needed to remember to move around more often, or at least pay better attention to his posture. If he wasn't careful he could end up as another stoop-backed academic from always hunching over a desk. Looking up from the stone table he'd covered with is work he noticed Edward standing at attention. If it weren't for the flush in his skin Edward could have been mistaken for one of the statues that dotted the landscape. Standing straight for long periods was probably just as bad for him as hours huddled over his papers was for Tjelvar. 

“Eddie, why don’t you take a break? Stretch your legs.”

“No need." Edward shook his head. "I’m fine.”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?" He laughed, "because I certainly don’t. I’ve been at this for hours now, it has to be well past nightfall.”

“Oh, gods! Do you want me to get you something to eat?” Ed started for the door half in a panic. “I’ll go get you some food from the camp.”

Tjelvar put up a hand to stop him. “It’s fine, you don’t need to do that. I should probably stop for the night soon anyway. I just got a bit carried away-- It’s such an exciting find!-- but I think I’m just about to a stopping point.”

“I know how you are with your work, and how important it is. I didn’t want to distract you.”

“I appreciate that but there’s no need for _you_ to suffer. Why don’t you at least sit down for a bit and then we’ll both head back to camp and get some sleep.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Excellent.” Tjelvar smiled fondly at him before returning to his work.

There wasn’t much resembling furniture in the space other than a few bits likely to be precious artifacts. Sitting on those was out of the question. Ed didn’t want Tjelvar to fuss over him so he settled for leaning against the wall opposite the door. The ancient mortar crumbled under his weight sending stonework tumbling into the space behind. Ed winced as heard the sound of pottery shattering under the falling rocks. He cursed himself, things were going so well and now he’d gone and ruined it. Tjelvar was probably going to send him away now. 

“I’m so sorry, Tjelvar! I didn’t mean it!”

“Eddie. Edward, calm down. It’ll be alright.” Tjelvar was torn between concern for Ed and loss for whatever antiquities behind that wall, now destroyed. He forced sadness from his face before he continued. “You found a secret room. One we might not have ever found it if it wasn’t for you.”

“I’m a big, clumsy oaf is what I am.” Ed hung his head. “I don’t belong here helping you. I only make things worse when I'm around.”

“Eddie, look at me.” Tjelvar put a hand on Ed’s shoulder and the other on his cheek. Edward avoided Tjelvar's eyes but didn't pull away from the contact. “It’s okay. You couldn't have known. Besides, I have plenty of experience assembling broken pots, what’s a few more?” His eyes finally met Ed’s and Tjelvar gave him a reassuring smile. “Now let’s have a look at your discovery, okay?”

A reluctant half smile twitched on Ed's face as he nodded. Tjelvar gave him a hardy clap on the shoulder and went to grab a lantern. Not wanting to cause further damage to the wall, Edward hung back a few feet as Tjelvar pushed his lantern into the opening.

Ed squinted in the low light. "What do you see?”

“I’m not sure, but it looks like it might be some kind of laboratory. Alchemical maybe?” Many of the labels on the various jars and bottles were illegible-- either due to age or simply symbols Tjelvar wasn't familiar with. He did recognize more than a few volatile components among the debris. A dark blue liquid caught his eye. It was seeping from one of the broken jars and snaking its way toward a scorch mark in the center of the floor. When the two substances met the liquid ignited sending fire back along its path.

Tjelvar gasped and pulled back. “We need to leave.”

Ed’s hand went immediately to his morning star. “What’s wrong?”

“Fire, Eddie!”

“I don’t see any--”

Tjelvar pushed him to the ground just before the wall behind them exploded. In an instant everything was noise and pain and heat. Ed’s ears were ringing and he could barely see through the smoke and dust. He felt Tjelvar’s groan against his chest more than he actually heard it.

“Tjelvar!” Ed’s voice felt like it was coming from far away. Using it hurt his throat but he had to keep trying. Tjelvar was closer to the explosion and had taken the brunt of the blast. He had gotten hurt protecting Ed. That’s not how things were supposed to work! He was there to keep _Tjelvar_ safe, not the other way around.

“Tjelvar! Can you hear me?” Tjelvar stirred briefly from where he sprawled on top of Ed then lay still. “Come on, Tjelvar.” Ed coughed as the acrid smoke clawed his lungs. “You need to wake up. It’s getting real hot in here and we need to go.” Another fit of coughing wracked his chest as he struggled to stand. _Come on Ed, think! You’re a paladin of Apollo, there’s got to be something you can do._

“I’m a paladin of Apollo!” Ed said aloud.

He took as deep a breath as he dared and turned his thoughts to the light of Apollo. The same light he saw whenever Tjelvar smiled at him. Ed laid his hands on Tjelvar as gently as he could and focused that sensation into a healing energy until Tjelvar coughed twice and his eyes fluttered open. 

“Eddie?” His voice was confused.

“Oh, thank Apollo, you’re alive!”

He groaned. “It would seem so.”

“Right then! Let’s get out of here before the whole building comes down on top of us.”

Tjelvar struggled to his feet. “I need--” he broke off coughing, “I need to get my notes first.”

“Leave it! It’s not worth your life!”

“It’s my life’s work!” He stumbled away from Ed, stamping out what flames he could and gathering his scattered papers.

“Tjelvar!”

The archaeologist pulled several books from a collapsed shelf and pushed them at Edward. “Take them and go. I’ll be right behind you!”

Smoke had filled the room making it nearly impossible to see the man no more than two feet away from him. It scratched at his throat with every breath. “I’m not leaving without you!”

Tjelvar spotted his journal at the edge of one of the smaller fires. He hissed in pain and pulled back his scorched fingers but managed to retrieve it on the second try. Once it was safely in his possession he cast about for anything else he might be able to save. Eddie was calling to him but it all seemed so far away. The air was thick. It felt like he was doing more coughing than breathing. He was losing focus. If he could hold out just a little longer…

The world tipped sideways and he fell against something hard. The table? He tried to push himself up but he wasn’t strong enough. Not strong enough for a single push-up? What kind of orc was he? A growl started deep in his throat but was torn away by a fit of coughing. Why was everything spinning? He wasn’t moving. Was he?

Suddenly Eddie was by his side, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him up and away from the worst of the fire. Tjelvar couldn’t hear past the roaring in his ears but he saw Ed’s lips move. How had he not noticed those lips before? Or the deep blue of Eddie's eyes? There was a pleasant warmth radiating from Ed contrasted with the heat of the flames. It put some of the strength back into his limbs and he clung to Ed with his free hand, following where the paladin led until his legs collapsed out from under him. Eddie hooked an arm under Tjelvar's knees and lifted him against his chest. His head was too heavy to hold up any longer so he stopped trying. The metal of Ed’s breastplate was too hot against his cheek but he found he didn’t mind. Eddie was holding him, he was safe.

Ed wrapped his cloak around Tjelvar and hoped it would protect him from the worst of the smoke and fire. He could only hope he was headed in the right direction after losing his bearings going after Tjelvar. The smoke seemed thinner here so that had to be a good sign. Right? In all his live he had never been happier to see the moon’s light then when it cut through the gloom like a celestial beacon guiding them to safety.

Once he was far enough away from the burning ruins he laid Tjelvar on the ground to have a better look at him. Ed could see faint breath rising in the cold. It looked like smoke in the dim light and his heart skipped until he double checked Tjelvar's clothes for active burning. He rubbed snow along the singed edges of the leather bound journal he clutched in his blistered hands. How very Tjelvar. He would have laughed if he wasn’t so angry that book had almost cost him his life.

Ed wiped away the tears brimming in his eyes and looked to the sky. “Apollo, I know I’ve asked a lot from you today, and all of it after the sun's gone down too, but I need just a little more. Tjelvar’s good people. He can be stubborn and forget to take care of himself sometimes but he's kind to me and I- I can’t lose him.”

He pressed his forehead against Tjelvar’s and reached again for that warm spot in his chest. He scrunched his eyes shut and pushed it outward until he felt it expand to cover the both of them. It wasn't long before he felt Tjelvar stir and he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Your mouth to mouth technique is terrible.” Tjelvar croaked from beneath him.

Edward felt the blood rush to his face and his eyes flew open. “I- I um, I didn’t...” Ed sputtered.

“Let me show you how it’s done.” Tjelvar caught Ed’s surprised lips with his own and for a moment he thought he might have misread the situation. Then Eddie was kissing him back with an earnestness and enthusiasm that was undeniably Edward.

He hardly noticed the pain in his hands when he buried his fingers in Eddie’s hair. Tjelvar’s journal lay all but forgotten in the snow beside him as he pulled Eddie closer. They broke apart only long enough to catch their breath before leaning in again. As Eddie’s lips parted against his, Tjelvar decided that the present could be more important than the past.


End file.
